thanks for the info Doris, I really have to follow Juniors better than I do, but what happened to Riazanova?

Ryazanova/Tkachenko skated seniors this year. You can check their results in the ISU bio. They placed 4th at Russian Nationals behind Bobrova/Soloviev and Rubleva/Shefer. Now they are first alternates for Worlds.

I haven't see the Italians' OD yet. But the free was fab! even with the lift problem. Seriously, the comparision between the Italians tango and what the Shibs, did no favors for the Shibs.

in interpretation and expression i agree. But when it comes to technique they are worlds apart.Besides i cant believe the italians got level 3 for DIST which only covered 2/3 of the ice and 50% of the girls steps were unreadable..But again when one gets taken by the expression......... one can forget to look at the :'skates"feet

in interpretation and expression i agree. But when it comes to technique they are worlds apart.Besides i cant believe the italians got level 3 for DIST which only covered 2/3 of the ice and 50% of the girls steps were unreadable..But again when one gets taken by the expression......... one can forget to look at the :'skates"feet

But its hard to know because the skate gods can be cruel. But this was always regarded as a team to watch. They've got everything and are just amazingly polished for their age and experience.

Exactly. It's very hard to know what will happen in the next 4 years. Max's knees really limited DomShabs' abilities and Tessa Virtue was nearly forced into retirement (either that or surgery). Injuries are very unpredictable. Skate gods, be kind!! :boohoo:

I think I/K are absolutely a team to watch for the next quad (I loved the end of their FD ). Question now is will they stagnate or climb the ranks rapidly a la V/M and D/W? Only time will tell.

Will they move up to SGP next season? I do think they're mature and good enough to compete with the big guns but they might also benefit from another year of refinement and working on technique. With the dearth of podium material dance teams in the Russian seniors ranks though, I suppose they'll move up. They can start building towards Sochi and get clout.

I'm still learning about technique but can anyone explain to me why the Shibs got a Lvl 2 and I/K managed Lvl 4s on both step sequences? No senior team has managed to get L4 for both, not even V/M and D/W. I'm confused.

While they didn't this year, V/M and D/W both got all level fours in their FD at Worlds in 2009. Virtue/Moir got all fours for both dances in 2007 at Worlds as well. I agree, another year at juniors would be very beneficial for I/K, but I expect near explosive growth (barring injuries) in the future.

While they didn't this year, V/M and D/W both got all level fours in their FD at Worlds in 2009. Virtue/Moir got all fours for both dances in 2007 at Worlds as well.

They keep changing the COP requirements from year-to-year (someone called it a never-ending mutation ), I think it was easier to get a level 4 for previous years. Normally, the top few teams will get level 4 on nearly all their elements (Eg Worlds 2009). No team has done that so far this year. In fact, the number of Lvl 4 step sequences in Vancouver was less than 5 IIRC.

That's why I'm curious to find out what's so good about I/K technically. I really can't tell the difference!

They keep changing the COP requirements from year-to-year (someone called it a never-ending mutation ), I think it was easier to get a level 4 for previous years. Normally, the top few teams will get level 4 on nearly all their elements (Eg Worlds 2009). No team has done that so far this year. In fact, the number of Lvl 4 step sequences in Vancouver was less than 5 IIRC.

That's why I'm curious to find out what's so good about I/K technically. I really can't tell the difference!

I tend to agree with dorispulaski on this. You can not compare levels on Stsq from one technical panel to another, Each panel seems so see different things , i am sure if you gave I/K Stsq to 5 different panels you would get results varying from level 2 to 3 and each panel would make a case why they gave those levels.
in the same breath one also has to say, if P/I deserved level 3 for both the Cist and the Dist then I/K also deserve level 4 (i personally don't agree with this levels)
but more interesting was the levels I/K got for lifts
First of all i didn't think they held the first Straight line Lift......because by the time he was in a sit position and she was in an arch they had less then 3 seconds both in a difficult pose so there goes a few levels .
Also the first part of the Combo lift was also unfairly called...... because by the time they where both in a difficult positions they didn't both maintain 3 seconds together in their established poses.
On a normal competition this would be heavy penalise ..But on the day the technical panel gave some teams the benefit of the doubt ...